General characteristics—Classification—Literature: Fiction—Journalism—Teaching:
Recent changes—Day v. Resident Posts—High
Schools—Advantages and Disadvantages—Hours and Salaries—Report
of Committee of Enquiry—Fees—Elementary Schools—Table
of Salaries—London School Board—Voluntary v. Secondary Schools—Domestic
Economy—Demand for teachers—New openings—Higher
teaching posts—Religion and Philanthropy: Increased
employment of women—Women preachers—Law: Present position
of affairs—Conveyancing—Medicine: Progress made—Prospects—Recent
appointments—India—Pharmacy—Dentistry—Midwifery—Nursing:
Inadequate arrangements—Remuneration—Art: Music,
Painting, Sculpture—Obstacles to progress—Remuneration—The
Stage: Prospects—The Ballet and its remuneration—Handicrafts:
Artistic crafts—Pottery—Jewellery—Lithography—Engraving—General
Conclusions: Social hindrances.
In dealing with the more cultured branches of women’s
work we have to do with a department which, except in one
or two directions, is as yet incomplete, being still in process
of growth and development. Women are but slowly
working their way into the arts and the learned professions,
and their place cannot yet be definitely estimated. Progress
has been so rapid of late that what is true one year has
ceased to hold good in the next. A writer who attempts to
deal with matter that is thus in a state of flux can only
hope to give a tolerably faithful picture of the moment,
acknowledging frankly that present conditions may soon
give place to something very different. A counterbalancing
advantage, however, lies in the fact that in literary and
professional work women are independent units, and their
labour is not, as in manufacture and manual occupations,
so mixed up with that of men that it is almost impossible
to treat of it apart. In the occupations with which this
chapter is concerned each woman as a rule is economically
independent of other workers, and is free to make her
individual talent and idiosyncrasy fully felt. There is a
satisfaction in noting what women are able to do when their
hands are free, though a careful examination of the
conditions under which their work is carried on may lead
to the conclusion that circumstances are not yet as favourable
to the production of good work as they will eventually
become. It should be premised that work of any kind,
literary or other, is here regarded from a purely industrial
point of view, and that the aim of the writer is not to
criticise, but simply to record.
For practical purposes the occupations here treated of
may be classified thus:
(1) Literary work, including journalism.
(2) Teaching.
(3) Other professional work, including medicine and
nursing.
(4) Art, including such handicrafts as are practised by
women; music, and the drama.
Various occupations not coming precisely under any of
these heads are followed by a few scattered individuals,
but these will receive merely a passing notice. They are
interesting in themselves, but are so largely experimental
that it would be useless to consider them at any length,
since they may disappear at any moment.
Literature.—It is only recently that women have
entered the field of literature in any numbers. Until the
last thirty years or so it may almost be said that only a few
exceptional women, able to make their mark as poets or
novelists, were occupied to any serious extent in literary
work. Nor when we remember that the pursuit of
literature was considered to “unsex” a woman, and that
Mrs. Somerville had to keep a supply of plain sewing ready
to cover her books and papers if a visitor should call, is the
deficiency very difficult to account for. Only natures in
which genius is a compelling force can burst such
iron bonds. Fanny Burney, Jane Austen, Miss Mitford,
Mrs. Somerville, Charlotte Bronté, and Mrs. Browning—to
name a few of the pioneers—first broke down the barriers.
Then other quiet workers crept in, magazines became more
numerous, and offered a ready outlet for literary work;
biography, history, and science began to be handled by
women. Harriet Martineau perhaps more than any other
woman typified the modern phase of literary activity,
fulfilling in her single person functions any one of which
would content most literary women, being novelist, essay
writer, historian, and journalist in one. She was the first
of her sex to enter upon the routine every-day work of
literature, which has been freely trodden since, and her
writings embody much of the tone of thought and feeling
which is characteristic of the “women’s movement” of
to-day.
Fiction.—The branch of literature in which women
are most successful at present is undoubtedly fiction.
Besides the few novelists whose names are widely known,
there are a multitude of scribblers of lesser fame who yet
make a good living by their profession. There are grades
in these things, and writers whose works are seldom found
on the shelves of the fastidious are yet in good demand
at the libraries, and have a circulation and a public of their
own. An immense amount of second class fiction is
written by women, who seem to have a special gift for
producing tales that are readable and brightly written without
ever rising above the level of mediocrity. There is
a still lower literary grade, in which poverty of invention
keeps company with a wretched literary style. Yet books
of this class are not always unsuccessful.
The writing of fiction is usually supposed to be a highly
remunerative occupation, and so indeed it often is. But
it does not follow that the writing of three volume novels
pays. The phenomenal success, pecuniary and literary, of
one or two recent novels must not be taken as a sample of
what a writer may expect.[1] Though a good price is generally
paid for a novel if the author has once hit the public taste,
only moderate terms can be secured by less known writers,
and beginners must be content to part with their works
for a very small sum. A well-known novelist may receive
£400, £500, or even more for a novel, but a writer of fair
reputation does not as a rule receive more than £100 for a
novel that may have taken many months to write. If the
novelist is wise, however, she will make a varied use of her
material. Good prices, say from £100 to £250, are given
for serial stories by publishing syndicates, who issue the
tale simultaneously in half-a-dozen newspapers; and the
regular publishers do not as a rule give any less for novels
which have already appeared in the serial form. Probably
they regard the earlier issue as a good advertisement. Short
tales also pay well to those who can write them, and by
the contribution of occasional miscellaneous papers to
magazines and reviews the strain of prolonged composition
may be avoided and the income proportionately improved.
A lady novelist and miscellaneous writer in London has
been making from £600 to £700 a year for some time,
and has lately made as much as £900. Just at present
the acknowledged author has an advantage even in
journalism, for there is a great demand for articles in
newspapers signed by writers of repute. As much as
£10 a column is sometimes received for articles not
in themselves of an important character by writers whose
names are well known in other fields. It is an expensive
fancy, and whether it will last cannot yet be predicted;
but if one paper indulges in it, the rest are obliged
to follow suit. Outside fiction, a good deal of miscellaneous
literary work is done by women, of which it is
impossible to give any detailed account. Each writer
works in her own fashion, and for lack of meeting-places
there has hitherto been little interchange of thought or
experience among literary women. The foundation of the
Writers’ Club in London may perhaps be taken as a sign of
change in these matters. The formation of this institution is
instructive, since it was due to the limitation of the projected
“Authors’ Club” to men, on the express ground (endorsed
by Mr. Walter Besant) that women writers could not afford
to pay the subscription. In support of this opinion a lady
engaged in literary work in London estimates that few of
the rank and file among her colleagues are earning more
than £200 a year. On the other hand, some writers have
made a competency for old age, and not a few married
women, hard pressed by fate, have contrived to bring up a
family upon their literary earnings. Miss Annie S. Swan
recently owned to an income of about £1,000 a year, and
Miss Yonge made a handsome fortune by her novels.
Successful playwrights also make a good deal of money;
but it is doubtful whether any woman comes under this
category as yet.
Journalism.—At the present moment journalism
appears to be the fashionable literary pursuit for women,
and their contributions to the daily and weekly papers have
increased enormously during the last few years. The
general lightening of the cargo which has taken place
throughout the periodical press has greatly contributed to
this result; for women writers have usually a light touch,
and an apparently inexhaustible power of turning out
bright and readable, though often flimsy, articles upon
social subjects. In the department of dress they of course
reign supreme, and few newspapers can now afford to
despise this erstwhile frivolous subject. The writers who
discourse upon fashion, however, have, as a rule, had little
literary training; and through their efforts a kind of press
jargon has been evolved, wonderful alike in grammar, in
phraseology, in similes. But this is the least creditable
form of feminine journalism, and we will not linger over it.
In many of the papers written for women (and to which,
of course, women largely contribute) there is very fair
writing upon a great variety of subjects. Women have
occasionally been successful in the main walks of journalism,
but the position of the lady who represents the
Daily News in Paris is probably unique. As a rule women
keep to their special department, chronicling the doings of
London society, and taking charge of the lighter topics
generally, while their confrères are dealing with politics and
diplomacy.[2] This new development of journalism affords
an example of the results which may be expected to follow
when women are allowed free play to their activities in
other directions. They will not always simply duplicate
the work of their male predecessors, but will enlarge the
field of operations by striking out a line of their own.
It is impossible to name with any accuracy the income
attainable in the profession. Few of the women whose
names are known in connection with the press are journalists
pure and simple, though some of the younger generation
are adopting the profession in all frankness, to sink or
swim as their luck allows. Some few who entered the
field before there were many competitors have achieved a
good position, but their number could easily be counted on
the fingers. A woman, however, who has a fair variety of
subjects at command, and can combine purely literary work
with the day-to-day business of a journalist, may make a
very reasonable income from her profession—say £400 a
year. But a journalist beginning at the bottom of the
ladder would take long to mount so high, and would
probably be well content, after some years’ work, to be
earning £200 a year. It should be noted that journalism
among women is almost confined to London; for though
there are women so engaged in the provinces, it seldom
forms their regular means of livelihood.
Teaching.—The profession most commonly followed
by educated women is of course that of teaching. Until
recently it was almost the only occupation open to the
class above shop assistants, and even in becoming a
teacher a lady was held to have lost caste. The opening
of university education to women has given the death blow
to such false sentiment, and women are now free to adopt
what calling they like without loss of social position.[3]
The foundation of public day-schools for girls and the
working of the Education Act of 1870 have diverted the
channel of women’s activities from private teaching to
public schools. Instead of the governess we have the High
School mistress; instead of the “Dame” in a cottage the
Elementary School teacher. Not that the private governess
is in any way abolished, for many parents prefer, or are
obliged by reason of residence in the country to have their
children taught at home. Both the governess’s status and
salary are, however, considerably improved, owing to the
rise in the general level of education. Greater acquirements
are demanded, and payment is higher in return. A
resident governess may earn anything from £20 to £200
a year with board. If not resident she hardly obtains the
full equivalent in money, since her board costs her
employer but little if she lives in the house, and is
generally left out of consideration. But for many reasons
resident posts are unattractive to the majority of teachers,
and a bribe in the way of higher salary has to be offered if
a really competent teacher is desired in a boarding school
or a private family. Young women entering the profession
generally prefer posts in High Schools, where the work,
though fatiguing, is kept within fixed hours, and where
time out of school is (nominally at any rate) at the teacher’s
own disposal. There is something stimulating in teaching
large classes, and those who have grown accustomed to it
are seldom content afterwards to devote themselves
to one or two children. Payment too is regular, and
employment tolerably certain, whereas in private families
either means or honesty or both may be defective, and
in any case the growth of the children deprives the
governess sooner or later of her employment. For these
reasons therefore High Schools as a rule attract the ablest
teachers, unless delicate health or personal predilection
happens to weigh in the other direction. A similar state
of things prevails with regard to private schools, which are
obliged either to pay high salaries in order to attract good
teachers, or to put up with the inefficient ones who cannot
easily obtain work in a High School.
High Schools.—It is doubtful, however, whether High
School work altogether deserves the respect with which it is
regarded by aspirants to the teaching profession. A
glamour was thrown around it in the beginning by the
interest with which the foundation of new schools was
regarded, and there is a certain sense of distinction in
forming part of an institution whose working always attracts
a good deal of local attention. Against these attractions,
however, must be set decided disadvantages. In the first
place the work is very severe, and it is made harder than it
need be by the bad methods of teachers. To impart to
large classes the stimulus which is the essence of good
teaching is no light task, and the better it is performed the
more is taken out of the teacher. But as the actual class
hours are usually short (9 to 1, and 2.30 to 4 on three or four
afternoons in the week according to arrangement) this alone
would not be found injurious; and where the staff is as
large as it ought to be, teachers should get an interval
during some at least of the mornings. But the worst part
of High School work is the correction of homework, which
in many cases takes up most of the evenings in the week.
Such an expenditure of energy is almost pure waste, and
the mistress comes to school in the mornings tired and
dull, incapable of exerting the magnetism which makes the
lesson a living thing. It is greatly to the discredit of head
mistresses that a greater number of them do not set their
faces against this practice. Instead of consulting with
their assistants as to how corrections can be minimised, they
often insist upon a certain amount of homework being set,
and seem to consider that the more of it a teacher does the
greater is her value. In reality the opposite is the case, for
a good teacher will test her class during the lesson, and thus
do away to a great extent with the necessity for homework.
Homework cannot be altogether abolished, but it might and
ought to be much diminished, in the interests of both
teachers and taught. Women need to be less rigidly
conscientious in these matters, and more truly enlightened.
Salaries.—The salaries to be earned by assistant
mistresses in High Schools can hardly be regarded as
satisfactory, though they are probably higher than anything
that could be gained by teaching, except in a few cases,
before the institution of public day schools for girls. A
committee of ladies and gentlemen interested in education
recently investigated this question with great care, and a
summary of their conclusions may be given here. In the
first place they estimate that a change from private teaching
to a High School is “mostly attended by pecuniary loss,”
which confirms the statement made above. After analysing
the replies to schedules of questions sent out to schools,
the committee come regretfully to the conclusion that, apart
from head mistresses’ and a few exceptional posts, “something
under £160 per annum is the average reward, after
twelve or thirteen years’ experience, of the most expensively
educated and successful assistant mistresses.” From my
own knowledge of High Schools I can fully endorse this
estimate. Few assistants earn more than £150 a year, and
there are probably—nay, certainly—not half a dozen who
receive £200 a year. As the reward of an expensive
education, and, presumably, a fair amount of talent, these
figures can hardly be regarded as satisfactory.
Summing up the general results, “We may say,” proceeds
the report, “that of the teachers who joined their present
school more than two years ago one-fourth are at present
receiving an average salary of £82 for an average week’s
work (the average including very large variations) of 32
hours; half (25 per cent. of whom possess University
degrees) are receiving an average salary of £118 for a
week’s work of about 35 hours; and one-fourth (50 per cent.
of whom are University women) are earning an average of
£160 in exchange for a week’s work of 36 to 37 hours.
“These results do not appear unsatisfactory, but it must
be remembered that under the phrase more than two years
is covered a length of service extending in one case to as
many as seventeen years, and of which the average must be
taken as very nearly six. Many also of these teachers have
had considerable experience in other schools before entering
the one in which they are at present engaged.”
A further question which the Committee were charged to
investigate was the decline or otherwise of school salaries.
Upon this point they remark, “The schools which have
been in existence for some years appear to be paying within
a trifle of what they paid in 1885, but among the few
returns which the Committee have been able to obtain
from teachers in the employment of the recently formed
Church schools, are some salaries so low as appreciably to
affect the general average.
“The Committee, however, are obliged to note—and they
do so with the greatest regret—that whereas between three
or four years ago the commonest initial salary of non-graduates
was fluctuating between £70 and £80, the
preponderance has now been decisively gained by the
lower figure.”
This real though slight retrograde movement in salaries
is reinforced by another factor, of which intending teachers
should take note.
“Until recently,” reports the Committee, “when a new
assistant-mistress was engaged in a High School, the agreement
then made arranged not only for an initial salary, but
also for a scale of annual or biennial increment up to a
certain maximum. The Committee learn with regret that in
many schools these agreements are no longer being made,
and that new mistresses are therefore obliged to trust for
the future entirely to the liberality of their councils.”
It will be seen therefore that the position of a High
School mistress, though fairly stable and moderately well
remunerated as women’s occupations go, does not present a
brilliant prospect. Additional risk arises from the recent
establishment of schools, some of which belong to the
Church Schools Company, others to local companies, with
lower fees than those prevailing in the average High School.
These tend by their competition for pupils to reduce the
profits of the better schools, and therefore to lower teachers’
salaries. The evil is a serious one, and it is much to be
regretted that women, by accepting posts in such schools,
should countenance a movement fraught with injury to
their fellow-workers.
It is exceedingly doubtful whether the public schools for
girls which have sprung up all over the country with such
rapidity of late years have been formed upon a sound footing
as regards payment of fees and salaries.[4] Broadly speaking,
the fees are too low to pay salaries which will allow the
recipients to live in any but a very careful manner. If
unhampered by claims of relations, teachers may secure the
necessaries, and, to some extent, the comforts of life; but
they can hardly allow themselves such recreation, change
of scene, and general liberality of living, in the wide sense
of the term, as will enable them to recuperate their stock
of health, energy, and intellectual brightness, so as to retain
freshness in teaching and keep abreast of the times. The
right level of teaching cannot be maintained upon any less
terms; and so long as girls’ secondary schools are founded
upon a purely commercial basis, the standard which we have
a right to demand from those who have charge of the
education given therein will seldom, I fear, be reached.
The organisation of secondary schools is, however, too
large a matter to be discussed here. The whole question,
including the claims of secondary schools upon the State
for support, is rapidly becoming an affair for national consideration.
Legislation cannot be long deferred, and the
preliminary stage of discussion and debate has already begun.
Elementary Schools.—The conditions under which
employment can be obtained in the elementary schools
may be found in the official publications of the Education
Department, and the general character of the work is also
too well known to need description here.[5] More women
than men are employed in the elementary schools, the
number of certificated masters being 18,611, of mistresses
27,746. I append tables of salaries drawn up in 1893, by
the National Union of Teachers, classified according to
the denominations to which the schools belong. It should
be noted that the tables refer to certificated mistresses only.
AVERAGE SALARIES OF CERTIFICATED MISTRESSES.
| Principal. |
Additional. |
Total. |
| Denominations |
Average salaries, including all professional sources of income |
Number on which average is taken |
Number provided with house |
Average salaries, including all professional sources of income |
Number on which average is taken |
Number provided with house |
Average salaries |
|
£ |
s. |
d. |
|
|
£ |
s. |
d. |
|
|
£ |
s. |
d. |
| Schools connected with National Society or Church of England |
72 |
3 |
1 |
8,982 |
3,752 |
48 |
15 |
1 |
2,520 |
150 |
67 |
0 |
0 |
| Wesleyan Schools |
83 |
14 |
10 |
320 |
3 |
49 |
6 |
0 |
220 |
1 |
69 |
14 |
3 |
| Roman Catholic Schools |
64 |
17 |
6 |
1,350 |
304 |
50 |
4 |
2 |
477 |
7 |
61 |
0 |
11 |
| British, Undenominational and other Schools |
78 |
3 |
0 |
858 |
167 |
54 |
10 |
3 |
533 |
5 |
69 |
1 |
11 |
| Board Schools |
110 |
2 |
6 |
4,895 |
512 |
78 |
19 |
8 |
7,591 |
31 |
91 |
3 |
10 |
| Total |
83 |
8 |
6 |
16,405 |
4,738 |
69 |
6 |
7 |
11,341 |
194 |
77 |
13 |
3 |
NUMBER OF CERTIFICATED TEACHERS IN RECEIPT OF
SALARIES OF CERTAIN SPECIFIED AMOUNTS.
MISTRESSES.
PRINCIPAL. |
| Denominations. |
Under £40 |
£40 and less than £45. |
£45 and less than £50. |
£50 and less than £75. |
£75 and less than £100. |
£100 and less than £150. |
£150 and less than £200. |
£200 and over. |
Total. |
| Schools connected with National Society or Church of England |
203 |
320 |
397 |
4,626 |
2,303 |
1,037 |
82 |
14 |
8,982 |
| Wesleyan Schools |
3 |
8 |
7 |
150 |
74 |
58 |
18 |
2 |
320 |
| Roman Catholic Schools |
16 |
18 |
29 |
1,013 |
230 |
43 |
1 |
— |
1,350 |
| British, Undenominational and other Schools |
18 |
22 |
28 |
414 |
217 |
130 |
23 |
6 |
858 |
| Board Schools |
35 |
56 |
93 |
1,269 |
1,140 |
1,296 |
524 |
482 |
4,895 |
| Total |
275 |
424 |
554 |
7,472 |
3,984 |
2,564 |
648 |
504 |
16,405 |
| ADDITIONAL. |
| Schools connected with National Society or Church of England |
405 |
483 |
395 |
1,152 |
70 |
15 |
— |
— |
2,520 |
| Wesleyan Schools |
25 |
45 |
34 |
107 |
8 |
1 |
— |
— |
220 |
| Roman Catholic Schools |
46 |
71 |
51 |
298 |
8 |
3 |
— |
— |
477 |
| British, Undenominational and other Schools |
41 |
76 |
76 |
288 |
41 |
10 |
1 |
— |
533 |
| Board Schools |
146 |
246 |
358 |
2,771 |
1,956 |
2,106 |
8 |
— |
7,591 |
| Total |
663 |
921 |
914 |
4,616 |
2,083 |
2,135 |
9 |
— |
11,341 |
These tables show a considerable difference between the
salaries paid in Board and in Voluntary Schools, the Board
School average being £91 3s. 10d. against the highest
Voluntary average of £69 14s. 3d. In rural districts also
extra duties of an onerous nature, such as teaching in the
Sunday-school, playing the organ in church, getting up
village concerts, and performing parochial duties generally,
are often imposed by the clerical managers of Voluntary
Schools. Small School Boards also are not wholly guiltless
in the matter. Particulars as to these exactions may be
learnt from the publications of the National Union of
Teachers, which is making a determined stand against
their imposition.
The highest salaries are given by the London School
Board. Trained assistants (female) begin at £85 a year,
and head mistresses receive from £200 to £300. Higher
salaries are given for special work, and in the large
provincial centres also it may be said without inaccuracy
that the regulation scale is constantly broken in order to
secure good teachers of special subjects. In London
pupil teachers’ schools the salaries of assistant mistresses
begin at £125 a year, rising by annual increments of £5
to £150. Assistant masters in similar posts receive £140
to £170 per annum. Salaries for both sexes are said to
be rising gradually throughout the country, and although a
contrary movement has recently been initiated in the
London School Board, it is hardly likely that it will be
carried out to any great extent.
Elementary versus Secondary Schools.—Hitherto
elementary schools have not commended themselves
as a field of work for the class of women who now
form the staff of girls’ secondary schools. The salaries
offered outside London have not been high enough to
tempt them; holidays are short in comparison with High
Schools (six weeks in the year instead of thirteen); and,
lastly, the conditions as to training hitherto exacted have
been practically prohibitive. Women who have already
received an expensive education are not inclined to spend
two or three years more in a denominational training college.
The relaxation of rules in favour of women who have
passed certain recognised examinations, and the opening
of day training classes in connection with recognised
colleges, such as Owen’s College, Manchester, and several
of the local University Colleges, may do much to open the
elementary schools to a more cultured class of women.
Such women would soon obtain the headship of a school,
and would then, under a liberal Board, find a good
field for the exercise of talent and organising power. I
fear, however, that the shortness of holidays may still
prove a serious obstacle.
Domestic Subjects.—Meanwhile a new field of
work is being opened by the inclusion of domestic
subjects in the school course. A teacher of cookery in
elementary schools can earn from £80 to £100 a year in
a fairly agreeable manner, and private and visiting teachers
often earn more. Dressmaking and laundry work are also
in great demand, particularly in evening continuation
schools; and if to these subjects is added a knowledge of
sick-nursing and elementary hygiene, the combination
forms an admirable stock-in-trade for a teacher. In some
towns School Boards are training their own teachers,
probably with more haste than thoroughness, to fill the
posts for which such a sudden demand has arisen. Instruction
in domestic subjects is also being carried on
under the auspices of the County Councils, for there are
few among their number that have not devoted a share of
the funds available under the Technical Instruction Act,
and in towns by the power of levying a penny rate, to the
furtherance of technical education, in which domestic
instruction for girls is almost always included. Thus,
throughout the length and breadth of the land, teachers
of these subjects are eagerly sought; and cookery schools,
embryo technical schools for women, and voluntary
agencies, such as the National Health Society, are busily
employed in training teachers and sending them out to
different districts. The Liverpool School of Cookery is
particularly active in this direction.
The misfortune is that in these subjects there is no
definite standard, and each school trains after its own
fashion. The money for technical education was gained
by a side wind, and the passing of the Act found the
country unprepared, no organised system of instruction or
of training for teachers being in existence. As experience
is gradually accumulated the different agencies at work will
probably make comparison of methods and adopt to some
extent a common system and standard. In this connection
it should be mentioned that though women have no place
upon County Councils, they may be and are appointed
upon the local committees for carrying out the Councils’
schemes, and in this way they are able to take an active
share in educational work.
It cannot at present be foretold what shape this large
enterprise will eventually take, but it seems likely that for
some time to come the teaching of domestic subjects will
form an important and considerable opening for women.
It is fortunate that it is so, since many are thereby enabled
to find congenial employment who have no taste for the
purely literary side of education. In time permanent
institutions for domestic instruction will probably be formed
in the large centres of population—indeed such a movement
has already begun. The superintendence of work at these
centres, which will also embrace outlying districts, must
give rise to good appointments, and it is well to bear in
mind that these will certainly fall by preference to women
who besides technical knowledge have received a good
general education, and possess powers of organisation and
management. Women so qualified will probably be highly
paid. The rank and file may not impossibly find their
earnings diminish as their numbers increase; at present
their services are at a scarcity value. In view of the
certain extension of this branch of teaching work it is
worth while for girls or their parents to consider whether
(viewed as a wage-earning instrument solely) a course at a
school of domestic economy, requiring at most two years,
and costing a comparatively small sum (say £15 per
annum), is not more advantageous than three or four years
at Oxford or Cambridge, costing from £70 to £100 a year.
In the ordinary branches of teaching, as I have shown, a
woman seldom earns more than £150 a year, and teaching
is almost the only breadwinning occupation followed by
women graduates. I know teachers of domestic economy
who make as much or more in the winter months, and have
the summer free for either rest or self-culture.
Higher Teaching Posts.—But few posts of higher
teaching or superintendence are open to women. Even
those mentioned above are only just beginning to take
visible shape. Headships of High Schools are of course
important positions, and are often well paid. An initial
salary of £250 a year (sometimes, however, only £150) is
offered, generally with rooms, but not board; capitation
fees, varying from 10s. to 30s. are usually added, but
these do not begin until 100 pupils have been entered.
Thus in an unprosperous neighbourhood a mistress may
have all the trouble of organising and managing a
school for £150 or £200 a year; for it is precisely
in these districts that the lowest initial salaries are
offered. In some few cases the income rises to £700 or
£800 a year. The headships of colleges and training
colleges available are of course very limited in number,
and the same may be said of the college lectureships at
Oxford and Cambridge, with rooms in college. These are
not well paid, and are chiefly attractive for the pleasant
university life they afford. Few women are as yet engaged
as University Extension lecturers, though it is hard to
see what impediment, beyond the prejudice of sex, stands
in the way of their employment.
Religion and Philanthropy.—Religion and Philanthropy
have not hitherto been reckoned among the
avenues leading to remunerative employment for women;
but it is by no means certain that this will be the case
in the future. The Catholic Church has always provided
careers for women in connection with convents and sisterhoods,
and institutions formed upon their pattern are
springing up in the Church of England and even in the
Dissenting churches. Since, however, the members are
merely supplied with board, lodging, and clothing, and are
content to find their reward in the satisfaction of their
calling, there is little further to be said about these
occupations from the industrial point of view. The
feminine side of religious and philanthropic work, however,
is developing upon much broader lines than heretofore,
and though at present it partakes largely of the
character of amateur work, it can hardly fail in course
of time to create remunerative and (if the term may be
allowed) professional occupations for women. To some
extent this is the case already. Even in the Established
Church the propriety of women preaching appears to be
regarded to some extent as an open question, and—with
or without formal sanction—the innovation seems destined
to spread. Whatever else women preachers may lack they
at any rate seldom fail of a congregation, an item which no
church can afford to disregard. It can hardly be doubted
that in this field also the labourer will eventually be found
worthy of her hire. For example, philanthropic societies
have usually a paid secretary, besides, in many cases,
visitors, lecturers, and propagandists. Most of the religious
bodies have now “Settlements” in the London slums, with
women’s branches. The resident manager is certainly paid
in some instances, and will no doubt soon be in all.
Political work may also in time afford occupation to a
limited number of women. It is, however, in purely religious
work that we may expect to see the next development of
women’s activities. In almost all denominations women are
already at work preaching and exhorting, and the desirability
of giving formal sanction to their proceedings is being
actively discussed in Nonconformist churches.
Law.—Of the learned professions only one, that of
medicine, is open to women. A combination of law and
ancient custom keeps women out of the legal profession,
and it is only in certain of its approaches, such as
conveyancing and accountants’ work, that they are
free to seek a livelihood. A summary of the case
by Miss Eliza Orme LL.B., gives a clear idea of the
situation. “Women can make wills and simple agreements
without qualification. Anything else (i.e. deeds)
must be nominally done by a solicitor, and women can
only be employed by them as clerks. Women cannot go
into court. If they do chamber practice (i.e. settling
difficult deeds for solicitors, or giving counsel’s opinion),
they can only do it through barristers as ‘devils,’ receiving
half fees. If women are to be solicitors the Act
will need altering. To be barristers they must be
admitted by the benchers of one of the four Inns (Inner
and Middle Temple, Benchers’ Inn, and Gray’s Inn), and
if a woman applied, probably a joint council of all would
sit.
“The Benchers might admit them as certificated conveyancers,
which would not allow them to plead in court;
but men themselves have not used their certificate for
many years.
“The University of London law degree is open to
women. It is a thorough practical test, but not a legal
qualification to practice.”
From this summary it will be seen that the door of the
legal profession is still fast closed. There is no difficulty
however in a lady’s practising as a conveyancer, and no
reason therefore why more women should not follow the
example of Miss Orme in adopting the profession, which is
said to offer a fair prospect of remuneration. There is
also at least one lady accountant in London, and the
audit of societies and public companies, the preparation
of balance-sheets and financial statements, may be freely
undertaken by women who are willing to train for the
work.
It should be added that legal work seems likely to
become possible for women in India. Miss Cornelia
Sorabji, who recently passed in the law schools at Oxford,
is about to take up a Government appointment in her own
country, and will be occupied with attending to the legal
interests of Hindu women, who are unable to consult
lawyers of the opposite sex. It remains to be seen
whether her example is capable of being followed by
others.
Medicine.—The profession of medicine has at last,
after long struggles, been thrown open to both sexes, and
women doctors are slowly taking their place in the ranks as
recognised practitioners of the healing art. Their presence
will tend in an eminent degree to the preservation of health
as distinct from the cure of disease, at any rate as far as
women patients are concerned; since it is plain that women,
and especially girls, can be more readily induced to complain
of ailments in the initial and manageable stage if they
are able to consult a member of their own sex. This statement
is sometimes questioned, but as far as girls, at least,
are concerned, I have no doubt whatever of its correctness.
And since the seeds of illness are often laid in early life
this point is of the very greatest importance. It is not
necessary here to recall the history of the struggle for
medical education, or to give details as to the places of
study open to women.[6] It is more important to enquire
what rank medical women are taking in their profession,
and what appointments they are able to obtain. Upon the
first point it is still too soon to pronounce an opinion. A
medical man does not expect to make a reputation within
the time that the majority of women have as yet been at
work. There are about 170 medical women upon the
register, and of these only a dozen qualified before 1880.
It is obviously too early, and the ground covered is too
small, to expect conspicuous results as yet; and if a number
of women are filling public posts in India, or working at
private practice in England with adequate success, they and
their friends have every reason to be content. In some
respects it is said to be easier for women to build up a
practice than for men. Dr. Jex-Blake remarks that “in
point of fact women are continually doing what men hardly
ever attempt—viz., settling down in a strange place with no
professional introduction to practice by purchase or otherwise;
and if gifted with a moderate degree of patience, tact,
and other qualities needful in every successful practitioner,
they do manage to succeed in a way that certainly goes far
to justify their bold adventure.” It is usually estimated
that five years are necessary to put together a practice that
will afford a livelihood. Whether the standard of “livelihood”
here taken is as high as that of man cannot be
exactly known; but it is certain that women who succeed
in the medical profession make much larger incomes than
in most other callings.
The appointments which have recently become available
are a great help to medical women at the beginning of
their career. A medical man usually fills minor posts in
hospitals, or acts as a locum tenens for a while before
attempting to set up for himself; but women have hitherto
been obliged to take up practice as soon as their qualification
was gained. The New Hospital for Women in
Euston Road, officered entirely by women, now affords
young doctors the means of gaining experience, and a
number of other posts are gradually becoming available.
Several medical women hold Government appointments
as physicians to the female staff of the Post-office; a lady
officiates as assistant resident medical officer in a workhouse
hospital, another in the Holloway Sanatorium, others
in fever hospitals or as asylum inspectors. A well-known
surgeon in the provinces employs a lady as an anæsthetist,
and a country doctor in good practice has for some time
been in the habit of employing medical women as assistants.
A few middle class girls’ schools have engaged the services
of a consulting lady doctor, and it would be well if the
example were more widely followed; since, apart from
cases of illness, there are many questions of hygiene
and school arrangements in which a properly-qualified
woman could give valuable advice.
Medical Women in India.—An important field for
medical women is to be found in India. The Mahommedan
races do not allow the presence of a male physician
in the zenana; and the Hindus, who have borrowed from
the conquering race many of their ideas and customs, are
also opposed to the practice. The Countess of Dufferin’s
scheme for supplying medical aid to the women of India—now
too well known to require explanation—was instituted
in 1885, and has been warmly supported by native princes,
some of whom have founded hospitals on their own
account. At present thirteen women doctors are working
under the Dufferin Fund, besides assistant surgeons, and
over 200 pupils are studying in Indian medical schools.
The various missionary societies also educate and support
a number of medical missionaries in India. It
is possible that some day Government may include the
medical profession in the Civil Service, but for the
present the work has to be done by voluntary effort.
Eventually too Indian women will take over the medical
care of their own sisters; but for some time to come
the field must continue to be largely occupied by
Englishwomen. Hindu and Mahommedan girls do not
study medicine; the native students in medical schools
are drawn from the Parsees, Brahma Somaj (Veda Hindus),
and Eurasians. Englishwomen holding appointments in
India are allowed private practice as well, but the latter
alone would never yield a livelihood, since the natives
who make use of the dispensaries do not expect to pay a
fee. If they receive medicine they do not object to pay
for it, and those who send for a lady doctor to attend
them in their houses are also ready to pay for her services;
but only the comparatively rich think of asking for a
doctor’s visit. Ladies employed by the association engage
to work for five years in India, and, besides a free passage
out, receive a salary of 300 rupees a month. Scholarships
are attached to some of the women’s medical schools, but
the amount—£25 or £30 per annum during education—seems
very small in relation to the obligations undertaken,
which, if not fulfilled, involve the return of the money.
Pharmacy.—One or two ladies have adopted pharmacy
as a profession; and as means of training are now
accessible, there seems no reason why an occupation
which is neither arduous nor disagreeable should not be
largely followed by women. Mrs. Clarke Keer has a
dispensary in London, and a few other ladies hold posts
in connection with hospitals. It has been suggested that
the work should be taken up by the daughters of medical
men, whose position gives them special opportunities for
training.
Dentistry.—Another very suitable profession is dentistry,
which is largely followed by women in America, but
only by a few in this country. There should be excellent
openings in this profession. A dentist once observed to
me, that with children a woman dentist would have it all
her own way, and would probably beat all the men, for
children were troublesome patients, and men did not
know how to deal with them.
Midwifery.—Women of education are being trained
in increasing numbers as midwives, and there is abundant
opening in this direction for useful and remunerative work.
But at present the status of midwives is uncertain, owing
to the lax regulations respecting their practice and qualifications.
The whole profession is undergoing a change,
passing from the ranks of untrained, unskilled, and inefficient
work to that of a skilled profession. The registration of
trained midwives is being urgently demanded, and a Select
Committee has reported in favour of the examination and
registration of all who practise as midwives. The necessity
for stricter regulations will be apparent when it is stated
that seven cases of childbirth out of ten in this country
take place without the presence of a medical man, and that
the women (mostly poor) who employ midwives have no
means of ascertaining their fitness for the duty. The
Obstetrical Society, London, gives a midwife’s certificate
of acknowledged value, which should be obtained by every
lady intending to practise in midwifery. For those who
wish to undertake benevolent work among the poor,
especially in country districts, a knowledge of midwifery is
highly desirable. The Midwives’ Institute in Buckingham
Street, Strand, looks after the interests of midwives, and
arranges for their training.
Nursing.—The profession of nursing continues to
attract numbers of educated women into its ranks, and
facilities for training are said to be insufficient for the
demand. (For details see Englishwoman’s Year Book.)
Considering the hardships involved in the profession its
continued popularity is surprising. The work of a trained
nurse, whether employed in a hospital or in private or
district work, is necessarily severe, and it is to be regretted
that more careful provision is not made for the comfort of
so useful a class of workers. Hours are long and holidays
short, and work of the most trying description is expected
to be done year after year, with a mere fraction of the rest
and recreation which is considered necessary in other and not
more arduous professions. In Nursing Institutes and Homes
the dietary is often very poor, and in hospitals the state of
things is not much better. It is unfortunately impossible
to repeat in any detail the complaints made by nurses
without indicating the institutions to which they refer; but
most persons with acquaintances among hospital nurses
know that abundant dissatisfaction exists in the profession.
Examples could of course be given of institutions that are
well managed in this respect, but they are, it is to be feared,
the exception rather than the rule. Boards of Management
are under constant pressure to increase their accommodation,
and, funds being seldom abundant, they are tempted to
work with an insufficient staff. The consequences are felt
most severely by the more educated nurses. It seems to
be forgotten that the superior tact and skill which make the
cultured woman a better nurse than her uneducated
colleague are gained to some extent at the expense of
toughness of fibre, and that hours and dietary need modification
accordingly. I am afraid that a good deal of the
mischief arises from mistaken notions as to what the
profession of nursing ought to be. Nurses are supposed to
take it up in a missionary spirit for the good of the
community, without regard to their own comfort or health.
Now unfortunately the more “noble” a profession is considered,
the greater is the tendency to neglect the material
well-being of those concerned in it; and nurses have
reason to feel the full force of this misplaced sentiment.
The policy followed in their regard is as foolish as it is
unjust. The inevitable fatigues of a nurse’s life require to
be counteracted by the most careful provisions for her
comfort, if full efficiency is to be kept up; and Hospital
Boards would do well to remember that more professions
are now open to women than there were when nursing
first became popular. The supply of capable nurses is
already insufficient, as the recent influenza epidemic showed,
and may easily become still more inadequate, if neither
facilities for training nor conditions of employment undergo
any improvement.
Nurses’ Salaries.—Except in institutions to which
pensions are attached, the profession of nursing cannot be
regarded as a money-making career. At one large London
hospital probationers receive £12 with uniform the first
year, £20 the second, and the “sisters,” or heads of
wards, receive £40 per annum. The Workhouse Training
Association (for replacing pauper attendants by trained
nurses in workhouse infirmaries) gives no salary the
first year, £20 the second, rising to £25. A district
nursing association in the provinces gives trained nurses
£24 the first year, and salaries rise to £30—board, lodging,
and washing being also found. From £25 to £30
therefore generally represents the money payment of a
trained nurse. The matron of a hospital may receive
anything from £50 to £100 per annum. In the large
London hospitals the latter sum is often exceeded, with
the addition of house, servant, and handsome fees from
probationers. For heads of hospitals therefore the profession
is by no means unremunerative; but these posts
are few and far between. With the multiplication of
cottage hospitals which is certain to take place minor
posts with fair salaries and a not too arduous life will
become available. Private nursing under a medical man
is often well paid, but uncertainty of employment has to
be taken into account. Co-operative associations of nurses
are also being formed, and it is possible that by their
means a larger proportion of the fees paid by patients
may find their way into the pockets of those who earn
them.
Art. Painting and Music.—And now what must
be said of the domain of the arts and of women’s place
therein? If women have entered but timidly into this
fair kingdom, it has not been for want of fitness, as the
rapid success of a few among them clearly shows; the
hindrance has lain rather in the prejudices of society
and the lack of proper training. Though rapidly disappearing,
the former are not yet extinct; means of training
are not the same for both sexes, nor have women
ceased to suffer from the blasting influence of Puritanism
upon art. Anything that damages the social reputation of
a profession bars it more or less to women; and anything
that makes training difficult or expensive is a more serious
hindrance to women than to men, since parents are not so
willing to make sacrifices for a girl as for a boy. Astonishment
is often expressed at the absence of women composers
of merit; but the reason is not really far to seek.
Until the foundation of the London schools of music (to
which that of Manchester must now be added) musical
education has been difficult to obtain by either sex. But
the practical part, which involves an acquaintance with
orchestral instruments, the methods of opera, the arrangement
of church music, the management of chorus parts
and a hundred other details, has hitherto been almost
unattainable by women. There seems little à priori
reason for supposing that music is an affair of sex. Fanny
Mendelssohn was scarcely, if at all, less gifted than the
brother who so calmly placed her in the background, and
was not ashamed to appropriate the credit of her work.
Some of the “Lieder ohne Worte,” and “O rest in the
Lord”—the latter perhaps the most popular of all Mendelssohn’s
melodies—were, as is now generally known,
composed by Fanny.
Remuneration.—It is impossible to give any estimate
of the value of either music or painting as a means of livelihood.
A music teacher, if well qualified, may earn a fair
living; and a teacher of an instrument less commonly learnt
than the piano—say the violin—may sometimes earn £150
or £200 a year while quite young. Singers, unless of the
first rank, generally find it profitable to combine private
teaching with public performances. For a concert engagement
a beginner may receive £5 with travelling expenses,
rising soon, if successful, to £10 or £20. Great performers
are of course at a “monopoly value,” as the economists
say, and their annual earnings often run into four figures.
As for composing, its pecuniary reward is very uncertain.
“It does not pay to write symphonies,” a popular composer
naively remarked, and the same thing may be said of most
of the higher kinds of composition. Incidental music for
stage plays is often well paid, and a popular song may yield
a small income in itself. The budding composer, however,
like the artist or author, must be content to let his first
works be sold for almost nothing for the sake of making a
reputation, but this once made he can command his own
terms. A deadening effect is exercised on musical art in
this country by the mischievous system of royalties. Many
singers high in the ranks will not look at a modern song
unless they are paid a handsome royalty for singing it, and
thus a valuable means of advancing the reputation of a
young composer is rendered useless.
Painting and sculpture are so purely an affair of the
individual that it is more difficult to make general statements
with regard to them than with any other artistic
profession. Each artist works on his own lines; there is
no general or usual rate of remuneration, and no one can
predict with any certainty the prospects of the profession
even to a painter of talent. Indeed the less the talent,
often, the greater the success. All that can be said is that
the woman who means to live by her brush or her chisel
must be prepared for a hard struggle before she can earn a
competence; and very few attain to wealth. The development
of illustration in periodicals has however opened a
large and fairly-well paid outlet for women’s work, and
many a rising painter would be hard put to it but for the
aid that comes—only in guineas and half-guineas it may be,
but steadily—from black-and-white drawings for the press.
Many men, though at present few women, earn a fairly
good living entirely by black-and-white work.
The Stage.—The stage is, socially speaking, becoming
easier of entry for girls. Those who wish to succeed
must begin young, a proviso which forms a serious disadvantage
in a profession involving obstacles to be surmounted,
or awkward corners to be rounded. It is
difficult to obtain entrance to a good London theatre,
and novices generally have to go through a course of probation
with a touring company, with the prospect of hard
work, ill quarters, and uncertain pay. The profession is
thus encountered on its roughest side at first, and it is not
surprising that the prospect should daunt intending candidates.
Yet the stage has a fascination of its own, and
those who once tread the boards can seldom find it in their
heart to forsake them. If a girl can by luck or perseverance
gain a footing in one of the good London companies, the
life need present no terrors to herself or her friends, and
payment will be fair and regular while it lasts; but outside
a comparatively small circle the stage, though perfectly
reputable, is at best precarious as a means of livelihood.
Engagement is almost always for the run of a single piece
only, and there is usually no payment for rehearsals. Thus,
after weeks of rehearsal, if the piece is unsuccessful, a girl
may only earn a fortnight’s salary. In these matters actors
and actresses are not well used, and when they have learnt
the value of united effort they will certainly combine for
securing juster terms. There is less cause for complaint in
the rate of payment, which is generally fair, and often very
good; while a successful actress can of course make a very
large income. In good theatres a guinea a week is a common
wage for a girl who merely “walks on,” but with touring
companies she is generally expected to serve an apprenticeship
before earning anything. If she obtains a speaking
part she may earn £2 or £3 a week; but an actress would
do well to reckon her salary at half its nominal amount, as
she is likely to be frequently out of work. The institution
of regular rates of payment is hindered by stage-struck
amateurs, who are willing to pay, in some cases large
sums, to appear on the boards, even in the smallest
capacity.
There are all ranks and grades in the dramatic profession,
and a vast number of actresses never rise above the position
of “extra” ladies in pageant plays, or the rank and file of
performers in pantomimes. The latter earn from 15s. to
20s. a week, and their employment is intermittent. In the
case of impecunious or unscrupulous managers payment
also is uncertain. Girls in the humbler ranks of the
profession are subject to all sorts of ill-treatment and
swindling. For example, a number of girls were recently
engaged for an “open-air fête” in the country during
some weeks of the summer. The weather turned out wet,
and a friend who visited them found their dressing-tent
only partly covered in, and swimming in water. They
had attended thirteen rehearsals and a few performances
without payment, and but for the intervention of friendly
outsiders it is doubtful whether they would ever have
received any payment at all. These girls had left paying
employment as dressmakers and milliners for this thankless
work, yet they endured their unjust treatment without
complaint.
Speaking generally, the difficulty of the dramatic profession
is, that while talent is rare, it is overcrowded with
candidates of very moderate abilities. On this account it
is very difficult for a girl to get an opportunity of showing
what she can do, and much patience is necessary to success.
If possible, a girl should have some other means of eking
out her income during the first months or years of the
struggle.
Many girls work at dressmaking in the summer
months, taking to the stage regularly when the pantomime
season comes on. Then there is the ballet, which in
London alone employs thousands of women. An ordinary
ballet dancer receives £1 to £1 10s. a week, and has to
work hard for her money; the best members of the troupe
however may earn as much as 35s. a week. The earnings
of “solo” dancers are of course much higher. English
principals in pantomimes receive £5 and £9 a week, but
the usual custom is to employ foreigners—French or
Italians—who are paid as much as £12 a week. Popular
performers receive fancy salaries, and a dancer or music-hall
singer who has hit the public taste sometimes makes
as much as £70 a week. A lady in this branch of the
profession was recently invited to visit America at a salary
of £250 a week. A “variety artist” sued her manager for
£43 6s. 8d. as a week’s salary, and gained all but the odd
£3 6s. 8d. Miss Loie Fuller, the “serpentine” dancer, was
engaged, as a subsequent lawsuit shewed, by a French
manager for three years, at a salary of 102,000 francs, or
over £4000 a year. If reward went by talent and artistic
culture these figures would be highly satisfactory, but as a
rule the reverse is the case. With regard to dancing, however,
public taste is improving, and both on the stage and
in private houses graceful dancing—dancing worthy of
being called an art—is increasingly appreciated. A really
good dancer is highly paid, though not upon the extravagant
scale quoted above.
Handicrafts.—A word must be said about the
position of women in artistic crafts and in designing,
though it is to be feared that the account will somewhat
resemble the famous chapter on “Reptiles in Ireland.”
Pottery is almost the only field in which women are
employed as designers, and here, as in isolated examples in
other trades, what has happened is rather that an artist has
turned trade designer, than that the trade has educated an
artist. For example, a lady now carrying on business as a
jeweller was educated at an art school, and owing to some
accidental circumstance began designing for a jeweller.
Eventually she set up in business for herself, and still
designs many of the articles manufactured in her workshop.
Isolated cases of the same kind might be cited from other
trades. Speaking generally, however, women designers
have not shaken themselves free from the trammels of the
art schools, or gained the practical acquaintance with crafts
and manufacture which alone can make their work marketable.
It is probably more difficult for women than for
men to gain this practical knowledge, and those who mean
to succeed must bring both courage and perseverance to
the task.
Artistic Crafts.—The artistic crafts proper are hardly
followed at all by women. With the decay of domestic
industries they lost what skill and knowledge they once
possessed, and technical education has not yet restored
them to their rightful position as skilled workers. If
women are employed as jewellers, potters, or even photographers,
it is only in the least skilled, and consequently
worst paid portions of the work. Thus in the jewellery
manufacture they are employed in unskilled operations,
such as stringing pearls; and their earnings do not rise
above £1 a week, while the skilled labour of men
brings in from £3 to £6 a week. At electrotyping, in
Birmingham, their wages are not more than 25s. a week,
and the same might be said of those engaged in the
electro-plate manufacture in Sheffield.
A few women are employed in chromo-lithography, but
not many lithographers are willing to take women as
apprentices. Wood engraving employs rather larger
numbers, and the work is fairly well paid. In an office
in which four women engravers work the wages earned per
head during three months were, on an average, £2 18s. 5d.
weekly, the highest wage earned being £3 3s. 4d., and the
lowest £2 13s. 7d., representing a payment of 1s. 1d. an
hour. At another office the average weekly wage is
£1 18s. 9d., the highest being £2 3s. 9d., and the lowest
£1 7s. 11d., representing an average payment of 10d. an
hour. The entrance of women into such crafts has been
materially aided by the Society for the Employment of
Women, in Berners Street, which endeavours to find both
means of training and business openings for its clients.
In artistic crafts which require an apprenticeship women
have much opposition to encounter; their entrance is
generally opposed by the workmen employed, who fear,
and not without reason, that the women will undersell
them and bring their wages down. If women hope to
gain a footing in skilled occupations they must conciliate
opposition, by showing that they have no intention of
underselling their fellow workmen.
General Conclusions.—It will be seen that in
almost all the occupations here considered women have
special difficulties to contend with—imperfect training,
amateurish habits, social customs or prejudices, and the
opposition of those who, sometimes from prejudice and
sometimes from a well-grounded fear of injury, oppose the
industrial employment of women. Time and good
counsels may be trusted to diminish these obstacles, if not
to do away with them entirely. Meanwhile it remains
to give women the opportunity, by thorough training, of
showing the extent of their capacity for different kinds of
work. Disquisitions as to what women can do, or cannot
do, are irrelevant at the present moment, when facilities for
training and employment have not been open long
enough to test their powers in any direction. In these
matters it is safer to prophesy after the event, and it
is certain that competition will eventually drive women
out of any calling for which they prove themselves really
unfitted.